PSIR Simplified

The term Blue Economy may be of recent origin, but the practice of blue economies has continued for centuries. However, the Blue Economy has received attention from by different organizations, both regional and global as well as different countries in last one decade. The goal number 14 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, announced in 2015 also refers to the sustainable use of ocean resources and their conservation. The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) declared Blue Economy as a Special Focus area in 2014. As per IORA declaration, he objective of the Blue Economy is to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and employment opportunities within the ocean maritime economic activities (IORA: 2023). The European Union and ASEAN have also paid due attention to Blue economy. Many countries including India refer to blue economy as a new area of their bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The recently concluded G-20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September, 2023 also gave special focus on the subject of blue economy. The G-20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration adopted the Chennai High-Level Principles for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue/Ocean-based Economy and expressed commitment to conserving, protecting, restoring and sustainably using the world’s ocean, marine ecosystems, and look forward to make progress.  The UN Ocean Conference is scheduled to take place in 2025 to make a global push for blue economy (MEA: 2023). Thus the focus on Blue economy will continue in coming decades.

The present focus on Blue Economy underlines the two emerging concerns: the need to harness ocean resources for the growth and development; and the need to conserve and protect the environmental health of ocean and water bodies. The present notion of Blue Economy addresses these two concerns.  According to World Bank, Blue Economy is ‘the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.’ Thus, the notion of Blue economy has two core features: use of ocean resources for development and growth; and conservation of ocean resources, which has become a daunting task in view of climate change, overfishing, loss of biodiversity and plastic and other pollution. The activities generally included under the Blue Economy framework are:   maritime shipping, fishing and aquaculture, coastal tourism, renewable energy, water desalination, undersea cabling, seabed extractive industries and deep sea mining, marine genetic resources, and biotechnology (World Bank:2017). The ocean based economy has substantial role in global prosperity as Oceans cover 72 percent of the surface of our blue planet and provide a substantial portion of the global population with food and livelihood. Enhancing more than 80 percent of global trade, marine and coastal environments constitute a key resource for economic development (IORA: 2023). According to UN, the blue economy generates between $3 trillion and $6 trillion globally every year, while sectors like fisheries and aquaculture support about 260 million jobs (Noda:2023).

India and Blue Economy

India occupies central and strategic position in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean plays crucial role in India’s development, trade, energy and security, among others. In Indian context, NITI Ayog envisages Blue Economy as “the entire system of ocean resources and manmade economic infrastructure in marine, maritime and onshore coastal zones within India’s legal jurisdiction, which aid in the production of goods and services and have clear linkages with economic growth and environmental sustainability and national security” (Sirur: 2023). In fact, the Blue Economy has special significance for India in view of the facts of India’s 7517 km coast line covering nine Indian states, 2.2 million sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone, chain of 200 ports including 12 major ports and its 4 percent contribution to GDP. The coastal economy sustains over 4 million fishermen and coastal towns. India is the second largest fish producing nation in the world and has a fleet of 2,50,000 fishing boats. The Indian Ocean’s Blue Economy has become a global economic corridor. It is the world’s third-largest body of water, covering 68.5 million square kms and rich in oil and mineral resources, and countries around the ocean’s periphery are home to about one-third of humanity. (IBEF: 2022). Thus, the importance of Blue Economy for India for its development prosperity and security needs no emphasis.

India’s Initiatives for harnessing Blue Economy

In last one decade, India has adopted a number of initiatives covering all dimensions of Blue Economy to realize its full potential. These dimensions range from policy framework to maritime resources, security and conservation of maritime space and ocean body. Spatially, India’s Blue economy framework has three dimensions; National, Regional and Global. Thus, it is a set of initiatives covering national capacity building and programmes for harnessing potential of Blue economy, regional cooperation and international participation and cooperation in the research and sustainable use of marine resources.

A. National Framework of Blue Economy: At National Level, India has outlined many programmes and initiatives for sustainable use of marine resources under the framework of Blue Economy. Some of these initiatives in recent years are: Blue Economy policy framework, Deep Ocean Mission, Sagaramala Project, National Fisheries Policy, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, O-Smart, and NavIC.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal ministry for Ocean development and Blue Economy in India, but it involves various ministries and departments of the government namely Ministry of Shipping and Transport; Ministry of Science and Technology;  Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying; and Ministry of Forests and Climate Change among others. The Ministry of Earth Sciences released the draft of the National Policy for India’s Blue Economy-2021, which is open for discussion and feedback from all stakeholders. Blue Economy policy framework envisages the optimal utilization of all sectors of the maritime domain- living, non-living resources, tourism, ocean energy, etc. for sustainable development of coastal areas. This policy document contains key recommendations on National Accounting Framework for Blue Economy and Ocean Governance, Coastal Marine Spatial Planning and Tourism Priority, Marine Fisheries, Aquaculture and Fish Processing. Manufacturing, Emerging Industries, Trade, Technology, Services and Skill Development, Logistics, Infrastructure and Shipping, Coastal and Deep-Sea Mining and Offshore Energy and Security, Strategic Dimensions and International Engagement (PIB:2022). The goal of the policy document is to increase the blue economy’s contribution to India’s GDP, improve the lives of coastal residents, protect marine biodiversity, and ensure the national security of maritime areas and resources. The proposed policy framework emphasizes policies in a number of critical areas, including fisheries to aim to achieve holistic growth (IBEF: 2022).

India launched its Deep Sea Mission in 2019 to develop deep sea research and mining capabilities in mission mode. The Rs 8000 crore mission is launched by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). The Mission’s aim is to scientifically explore the deep oceans towards improving our understanding of the blue frontier. The focus areas cover the development of technologies for deep-sea exploration and exploitation of living (biodiversity) and non-living (minerals) resources; development of underwater vehicles and underwater robotics; development of ocean climate change advisory services; technological innovations and conservational methods for sustainable utilization of marine bio-resources; offshore based desalination techniques; and renewable energy generation (PM-STIAC: 2023). India is on the way to launch its first deep ocean exploratory vehicle known as Matsyayan, which will go 6000 kms deep to enhance India’s deep-sea mining capabilities. This will enable India to mine Polymetalic Nodules in the 75000 sq kms area in the Central Indian Ocean, allotted by the International Sea Bed Authority. These polymetalic nodules contain copper, nickel, manganese and other valuable minerals. With this India will join the league of global leaders in deep sea mining like China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

India is the second largest producer of fisheries products in the world after China. It provides livelihood to 40 lakh fishermen and sustains the development of coastal towns of India. Keeping this in view, the government of India launched National Fisheries Policy in 2020, which aims at securing overall development of fisheries and aquaculture in the country. It will ensure sound management and sustainable development of the resources and associated habitats, maintaining the ecosystem integrity, meeting the food and nutritional security of the growing population, protecting the rights of the fishing and farming communities and building their resilience, making Indian fish and fish products globally competitive, and supporting India’s commitment towards fulfillment of the global agenda on sustainable and wise-use of the fisheries resources (GOI:2020).

          Shipping and transport constitutes important component of India’s blue economy by promoting trade as well as development of coastal region. The government of India launched in 2015 the Sagarmala Project which aims at holistic port infrastructure development along the 7,517-km long coastline through modernization, mechanization and computerization. Besides it envisages port-led industrial development, port-led community development and port-led development of inland waterways. Aligned with this, India unveiled its Maritime India Vision 2030 (Sagar Samridhi Yojna) in the year 2021, which has four core components of blue economy and ocean development:  Coastal Infrastructure development, Coastal Tourism, Coastal Industrial development and Coastal community development. Among other initiatives India has launched NavIC scheme which is a counterpart of GPS system of US. The NavIC will cover geo-positioning services in 1500 km periphery of India. Its range is being extended to 3000 km now. Also India has signed MOUs with major Android phone companies active in India to incorporate NavIC feature in their new mobile phones. India’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management ensures the environmental concerns in the growth of blue economy. India’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan is a part of the World Bank Funded Enhancing Coastal and Ocean Resource Efficiency (ENCORE) Program, which was launched in 2019. It adopts a holistic approach for conservation of marine resources and coastal areas of the country. A separate institution called the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) has been established for the implementation and monitoring of this programme. In brief, Schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana on sustainable fisheries, the Maritime India Vision 2030 for coastal infrastructure, and the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification for sustainable management of coastal areas highlight how the country is building a blue economy in an environmentally conscious manner (NODA:2023).

B. Regional Blue Economy Framework: Since India’s blue economy framework covers the entire Indian Ocean Region (IOR), India has taken many regional initiatives for the sustainable use and conservation of ocean resources. India launched its flagship regional programme SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) in 2015, which is India’s policy for regional maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region. The SAGAR vision includes five components which have deep bearing on India’s regional approach to blue economy. These components are: Security, sustainable development of resources, Collective action in nonconventional maritime threats, capacity building, and maritime engagement with other countries.

India is a founder member of Indian Oceana Rim Association (IORA) since its inception in 1997. In 2014, the IORA has identified Blue economy as one of her special focus area. The Jakarta Declaration on Blue Economy, adopted during the first ever IORA summit in 2017, among other things resolved that the Blue Economy should ensure the sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and taking action for their restoration in order to maintain healthy and productive oceans, and achieve inclusive economic growth in the Indian Ocean region.  It also identified IORA’s Blue Economy priority sectors namely: Fisheries and Aquaculture; Renewable Ocean Energy; Seaports and Shipping; Offshore Hydrocarbons and Seabed Minerals; Deep Sea Mining, Marine Tourism; and Marine Biotechnology, Ocean Observation, Research and Development.  All activities under these sectors should be carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner (IORA: 2023 a). The recently held Ministerial Meeting of IORA in Colombo on 11 October, 2023 reiterated its commitment for the sustainable development of blue economy in the Indian Ocean Region. The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative Multi-sectoral Technological And economic Cooperation) founded in 1997 covers the cooperation among the seven countries bordering the Bay of Bengal maritime area of Indian Ocean. India is key player in BIMSTEC, which has other six members like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. It has identified 14 priority areas for strengthening cooperation among member states. Out of these priority areas, many areas namely fisheries, tourism, shipping and transport, climate change, energy, disaster management have direct bearing on regional blue economy of Indian Ocean.  Under BIMSTEC framework, India has set up BIMSTEC Tourism Information Centre in Delhi, BIBSTEC Energy Centre in Bengaluru; and BIMSTEC Weather and Climate Centre in Noida. These regional initiatives need to be closely integrated with national and global framework of blue economy.

C. India’s Global Framework of Blue Economy: The idea and practice of blue economy is a global concern and priority of nations. The international legal framework for blue economy is provided by the UN Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS), passed by the UN General Assembly. It provides for the demarcation of the territorial domain of countries in the oceans, conservation of water resources and sustainable use of ocean resources. India has signed this convention and has availed the rights for exploration of Polymetalic nodule in the Central Indian Ocean, which is regulated by the International Seabed Authority established under the UNCLOS. In 2015, the UN has adopted 17 SDGs, and the 14^th SDG is concerned with sustainable use and conservation of ocean resources. India’s blue economy initiatives are tuned to this mandate. It aims to protect “life below water”, which involves the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for development.

 India has signed bilateral documents with some countries for the promotion of blue economy. India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development was announced during the India visit of Norwegian Prime Minister Ms Erna Solberg in January 2019. The India-France Roadmap for Blue Economy and Ocean Development was launched in n February, 2022. This roadmap mandates both countries to make blue economy a driver of progress of their respective societies while respecting the environment and coastal and marine biodiversity.

          More recently during the G-20 Summit held in Delhi in September, 2023, India managed the adoption of 9 High Level Principles on Blue Economy, which are part of G-20 Leaders Declaration. The nine principles agreed by the G-20 countries for the promotion of blue economy include (MEA:2023): Addressing Coastal and Marine Pollution; Sustainable Exploitation of Ocean resources;  Preventing illegal Activities that negatively impact the marine environment; Acknowledging Ocean-Climate Inter-linkages; Protection and Restoration of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems; Harnessing Low and Zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions; Promoting research on Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration;  Promoting Social and Inter-Generational Equity and Gender Equality; and Support for the Global ’30 by 30′ Goal, which seeks to conserve biodiversity in 30 global area by the year 2030.  

Challenges: The Oceans and their living and non-living resources are the vital factors in human ecosystem. Their use and conservation poses many challenges. The biggest change is the pollution of ocean ecosystem and their gradual disintegration. As the world’s population continues to grow and put pressure on natural resources, the challenges of pollution, climate change, overfishing and unregulated ocean activities oppose serious threat to Ocean ecosystems. It is estimated if the current trend continues, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, an unimaginable scenario. Conservation and restoration of marine resources and ecosystems is fundamental to development, and we need a sustainable blue economy to make this happen. The biggest downside will be the harm caused to marine life. A necessary part of the blue economy is to carry out these economic activities in a way that ensures that marine life is not harmed. Deep water mining, industrial fishing, ocean tourism, and a combination of these activities can quickly wash away the ocean’s life, making it even more critical that we ensure the protection of the ocean ecosystem from the beginning and not remember it when it is almost dead (Juneja:2023). In addition to environmental concerns India is faced with resource constraints as the entire gamut of Blue Economy requires huge investment in both men and materials.

Conclusion: Blue economy holds immense opportunities for growth and development. But it also poses a daunting challenge to exploit ocean resources in sustainable manner. India with a vast marine are under its jurisdiction is better poised to harness the ocean resources in sustainable manner. In last one decade, India has taken a number of initiatives at national, regional and national level to promote the growth of blue economy. It has tried to enhance her capabilities and activities in the areas of harnessing fishing and aquaculture resources, development of ports and coastal areas, deep sea exploration for mining polymetalic nodules, and integrated management of coastal areas. At regional level, India has forged partnership with many countries and some regional organizations like IORA and BIMSTEC for promoting cooperation in the field of blue economy. India is equally an active player at global level for the development of blue economy. India displayed its leadership during the G-20 summit by causing to adopt nine high level principles on sustainable use of ocean resources. These principles will guide India and the rest of the nations in the sustainable use of maritime resources, which is the core mandate of the Blue Economy.

REFERENCES

GOI (2020) The national Fisheries Policy. GOI. Available At: https://dof.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-12/Policy_0.pdf

IBEF (2022) Importance of India’s Blue Economy. India ADDA: Perspective on India, IBEF, 30 June, 2022. Available At: https://www.ibef.org/blogs/importance-of-india-s-blue-economy

IORA (2023) Blue Economy. Available At: https://www.iora.int/en/priorities-focus-areas/blue-economy

IORA (2023a) The Jakarta Declaration on Blue Economy. IORA, 2017. Available At: https://www.iora.int/media/8218/jakarta-declaration-on-blue-economy-final.pdf

Juneja, Yashpal Singh (2023)  Diving into India’s Blue economy a Sea of Opportunities. TOI, 08 April, 2023. Available At: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/diving-into-indias-blue-economy-a-sea-of-opportunities/

MEA (2023) G-20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. Media Centre, MEA. Available At: https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/37084/G20_New_Delhi_Leaders_Declaration

Noda, Shoko (2023) Needed: A Sustainable Blue Economy.  UNDP India, 16 May, 2023. Available At: https://www.undp.org/india/blog/needed-sustainable-blue-economy

PIB (2022) Blue Economy Policy. PIB, 17 July, 2022. Available At: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1845257

Sirur, Simirin (2023) What is “Blue economy’ and Why are India and World are Talking about it. The Print, 06 March, 2023. Available At: https://theprint.in/world/what-is-blue-economy-and-why-india-and-the-world-are-talking-about-it/1421393/

World Bank (2017) what is Blue Economy? World Bank, 2017. Available At: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2017/06/06/blue-economy